"Defending the American Dream:" Dinesh D'Souza, author

Rounding out a tribute to President Ronald Reagan, Dinesh D'Souza who authored Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader realized the hour was late (it was almost 9 pm) and folks were ready for the buffet dinner that was already in place across the hallway ... so he opened by saying he would quote King Henry VIII who told one of his wives, "I won't keep you very long," to laughter from the crowd.

I had been alerted to this young man by Jacob Parrish, a young Republican I worked with during the recent Primary in the SWAC area. Jacob had heard Dinesh speak to a group of James Madison University students and encouraged me to hear him ... and I was not disappointed.

Dinesh's Ronald Reagan book sits on my bookshelf, a purchase from one of my trips to the Green Valley Bookfair in Mt. Crawford, and is a wonderful insight into the man who became actor who became governor who became president.

Dinesh proved to be knowledgeable and humorous during his remarks ... and respectful of Ronald Reagan, a man he quoted several times and whom he obviously held in high esteem. True to his word, he kept his remarks brief ... but I could have listened longer.

He ended by encouraging we continue the conservative path and closed by asking:

"If not now ... when? If not us ... who?"

Indeed.